Moody's Upgrades LyondellBasell Credit Rating

11:41 AM MST | November 30, 2010 | Vincent Valk

Moody's Investors Service (New York) has raised its credit rating for LyondellBasell to 'Ba3' from 'B1'. Both ratings are speculative-grade. The company's credit outlook is positive. The upgrade is due in part to LyondellBasell's retiring $777 million in debt earlier this month. "LyondellBasell has substantially outperformed our expectations over the last two quarters, which has greatly improved their financial flexibility; this should allow management to maintain very conservative financial metrics over the next year or two, at a minimum," says...